


ko`u `uhane

by nihilvanum



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-22 06:22:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17054801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nihilvanum/pseuds/nihilvanum
Summary: Grace was almost 6 when Danny's soulmark on the outside of his right ankle began to scar over and a new patch of pale skin appeared on Rachel's left shoulder.Danny pretended not to notice, although he was never good at lying to others or to himself.





	ko`u `uhane

**Author's Note:**

  * For [msbeeinmybonnet (beeinmybonnet)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beeinmybonnet/gifts).



> **Disclaimer:** The characters are not mine and I do not make profits of any sort by writing what my active imagination has come up with.
> 
> I hope this fits what **[beeinmybonnet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beeinmybonnet)** is looking for. Happy holidays!
> 
> Special thank you to **[tarialdarion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tarialdarion)** , my comma-loving beta.

_"Could you tell the story again please, Danno? Pleeeeeeeeease?"_

_Even with Danny's resolve, it was impossible to give in to Grace's pleading accompanied by her earnest stare._

_"This will be the last story for tonight, Monkey," his exasperated smile at her was exaggerated making her giggle. Her small hands eagerly grabbed the plush toy monkey he handed her clutching it to her chest, hanging onto his thumb at the same time. The stuffed toy was as much a safety blanket as his finger for her bedtime. The request for her favorite bedtime story signaling she was ready to fall asleep. "After this story, you'll sleep like the good little angel you are?"_

_Grace nodded eagerly._

_"A long long time ago, some very wise people discovered the most important secret ingredient for couples to live happily ever after -- an ordinary looking mark would appear on a person's body after they were in touch with their soulmate. The marks --_ soulmarks _\-- were not easy to spot because they were merely small patches of pale skin like birthmarks, except the marks only showed up within a day after the soulmates first touched. This important news soon spread everywhere because everybody wanted to find their own soulmate and live a life of happiness. Starting from that time, everyone showered daily so they wouldn't overlook their soulmark showing up." Grace giggled at the mention of the showers. "Now, now, Monkey. Don't laugh. Showering everyday is very important."_

_"But I have Mommy and Danno, I don't need a soulmate," she declared with absolute conviction but unable to stifle a yawn._

_"Yes, you're 100% right, Monkey. Mommy and Danno are all you'll ever need," Danny agreed with a soft kiss on her forehead before continuing, "But you still need to shower everyday, because you're a monkey running around all the time getting sweaty and smelly. You want to smell nice, don't you?" Grace let out another tired giggle with a nod. "Where were we with the story? Hmm... Oh yes, the soulmarks. People always considered the marks being magical, since they never knew much about them until almost a century ago. Scientists have done a lot of studies and they've learned a little more now, like you can use a special light on them and they'll glow beautiful colors in the dark. You remember that 'wand' I used to show you my mark? It's sort of like magic, isn't it?"_

_She yawned again with eyelids starting to droop. "What's that word you used last time, Danno? Flor-red..."_

_"Fluorescent."_

_Grace smiled in response, slurring her words as she grew more sleepy, "It's so romantic. Magical glowing marks, like in a fairy tale..."_

_"You're 4, Monkey. What do you know about romance?"_

_Grace mumbled into the stuffed monkey's head, "Can I see your mark again, Danno?"_

_Shaking his head, Danny chuckled, "I'll show you in the morning, Monkey. Now you sleep."_

The marks continued to be a big mystery despite years of research, but it was clear they weren't magical. What people used to perceive as predestined fate was merely the work of hormones and bodily chemistry from the initial contact, announcing the potential compatibility of two people. Scientists also found the compatibility would change as people age -- two people could be compatible at 25 but not at 35, or vice versa. Confirmed marks could turn into scars and reunion of people after a long period of time could spawn new marks. Real life was certainly no fairy tale.

Grace was almost 6 when Danny's soulmark on the outside of his right ankle began to scar over and a new patch of pale skin appeared on Rachel's left shoulder.

Danny pretended not to notice, although he was never good at lying to others or to himself.

* * *

He was scrubbing down in the shower as usual when he found his first mark at the lower end of his left deltoid, where it was nothing but unblemished skin before. It was no bigger than a regular dress shirt button, shaped like a spider with seven legs instead of eight, was nearly missed. His heart pounded away inside his ribcage at the discovery as his mind drifted off thinking about the mark's implication. On top of this new chapter of his career and oncoming endless exhaustion, his new mark was proven too much of a distraction. If it wasn't for the muscle memories, he would've lost track of the allotted time for his shower.

It was only Steve's first night of BUD/S.

His heart froze when he saw the mark had blackened with a blue sheen the next night. The skin was smooth to the touch, not scarred. Besides the basics, a great deal about the marks remained unknown -- why a mark only appeared with physical contact, what determined the location it manifested, why it scarred over instead of fading away. There were tales of marks turning black -- too many tales. The majority of them were romanticized tragic stories of compatible couples who were never meant to be. Why did Steve's mark blacken?

It took a long time to quiet down the questions in his head. He didn't rest well.

On the third day of BUD/S, Steve saw a black mark shaped like a surfboard with the same blue sheen behind Freddie's right ear. Steve was positive Freddie's mark wasn't there when they met on the first morning.

Freddie loved to talk about Kelly, obsessively, about how they had been together since getting their marks when they met as juniors. Steve was fast perfecting the act of sipping his beer to hide the bitter grimace at the mention of Kelly, or blaming his expression on the stings of freshly inked shoulder masking the shame of his blackened mark. He wanted to put the mark in the past, like his mother's death or his father's abandonment, buried in the foundation of the man Steve strived to become.

> _The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat._

He might never get to have Freddie as his compatible, but Steve swore he would never lose Freddie.

* * *

Steve lost Freddie.

* * *

Steve had always trusted his instincts, supported by sound logic. Battling between logic and instincts with _feelings_ was an alien feeling to say the least.

This detective -- Williams -- shot his only lead to finding Hesse, disrespected his authority, and then caught him with an unexpected right hook. The last one was a personal insult. Williams tested Steve's anger management skills like no others had ever dared. Williams was a necessary evil, or at the very least compulsory suffering, to achieve his goal -- catching Hesse or killing him. Steve was good with either.

Deep down though, Steve could tell the anger was mainly the frustration over the case and the transference of the hatred towards Hesse. Steve could feel himself mentally giving leeway for Williams despite it all. Heck, he did essentially conscribe the man to work for him, with no solid intel of Williams' capabilities outside of the files he had read. Files carefully worded could hide undesirable facts and twist failures into successes. He knew better.

But Steve trusted Williams was what he needed. He trusted Williams in less than a day of their _partnership_ , regardless of how his training cautioned him to be wary.

His own instincts were screaming at Steve that it wasn't a time for logic. And he didn't like what he was feeling.

* * *

"Damn you dolphin trainer Annie." Danny couldn't help but mutter to himself as he searched for the doll Grace misplaced. The muttering was a bad habit he was trying to be rid of, he just wasn't any better at purging habits than with people.

There it was on the inside of his left wrist -- a mark shaped like a three pronged pitchfork pointing up his arm -- right in front of his eyes as he pulled his hand back from reaching behind the couch in search of Grace's doll. He thought it to be another one of those weird tan marks gifted by the relentless Hawaiian sun. His delicate East coast complexion kept turning red with tan marks whenever he missed a spot with the sunblock. However this one had persisted for too long when others had faded. Until Grace commented on it the previous night while Danny dutifully participated in the whimsical adventures Grace orchestrated for trainer Annie and her trusty dolphin, he hadn't paid it much attention. Against his skin tanned by the inescapable Hawaiian sun, the mark's paleness stood in stark contrast announcing its permanency.

There was no timeframe for him to look for the person responsible for his second mark, because he didn't pay attention to recall when the mark first appeared. With his job, it was impractical to track down all the new people he came across daily. Honolulu was too huge a haystack to find a tiny mark.

 _Doesn't matter. Nothing lasts anyway,_ Danny reminded himself. Okay, maybe he was the diehard romantic type who thought his first mark would last him a lifetime. Maybe he became apathetic when his first mark turned into a scab, and his ex-wife dragged his daughter thousands of miles out here to Hawaii and him along with her. To be completely honest, he _was_ jaded.

Nevertheless, he made a mental note to borrow a blacklight for next time he had Grace. Like the starry eyed child she was, she would want to see the colors of his second mark. He would do anything for his Monkey in spite of everything. Her continued belief in fairy tales and happily ever after was a soothing balm to his weary soul.

He did have Grace promise not to tell anybody about his second mark. No one else needed to know.

* * *

Steve couldn't sleep.

He could always make himself sleep when needed since it was mission critical to be able to get rest whenever possible. When the mental compartments began to overflow and his thoughts became too loud to make silent, the nightmares came out to play and his usual technique didn't work quite as expected.

It was the morning after he took the Governor's offer to lead her task force he found his new mark -- in a shape vaguely resembling that of a shield -- in the middle of his Apollo's belt on the right pointing down to his crotch. Saying that he felt surprised and stunned at a second chance was an understatement. He had wished to share a mark with Catherine, but reluctantly he accepted it would never happen when one didn't present with Cath. The lack of a mark didn't mean what he felt was any less significant, even if the idea continued to lurk at the back of his mind and from time to time reared its ugly monster head to mock him. Love couldn't be defined or limited by some biological compatibility test, was his constant reminder to himself.

As observant as he was, it wasn't long before Steve narrowed down to who his new mark represented. By elimination, there were five new people he had physical contact in the 24 hours leading up to the mark's manifestation. With close observation over the following week, Danny was the only one with a new visible mark on his person. From there and a little more digging, Steve confirmed no one else in the shortlist sported a new mark, visible or otherwise.

It was Danny. It was Danny who messed up Steve's harmonized existence of instincts and logic. It was Danny who stirred something primal in Steve with those broad shoulders, tight shirts, and form-fitting dress pants. It wasn't like Steve wasn't unaffected by the pretty package before finding out Danny was Steve's compatible. While highly trained, Steve was only human after all.

To Steve, Danny didn't behave outwardly different for the week that Steve had known him. It came down to two possible scenarios: a) Danny had yet discovered his new mark, which for a good detective like him seemed unfathomable; b) Danny didn't care if he had met a new compatible, which with his past experience was understandable while unfortunate.

Unfortunate for Steve, indeed.

Steve wasn't ready to admit it, but he dreaded that the mark might turn black. He was ill-prepared for the confirmation that he wasn't meant to be with anybody, that his compatible would be taken from him sooner or later. Would it hurt less if he never had them to begin with? It was something he didn't want to find out.

Freddie's bright smile kept wedging its way into Steve's dreamscape, morphing into Danny's bloody one.

* * *

Over the years, Grace had made a couple of suggestions that Steve triggered Danny's second mark. Like some modern day equivalent of Disney's fairy tales, her Danno would ride off into the sunset with Steve in the Camaro. It was a lovely sentiment and one which Danny fantasized in secret often in the middle of the night. The only trouble was that Danny had never seen something bearing any resemblance to a compatibility mark on Steve. After three years of working together, seeing each other in the locker room after a long day or a workout, Steve stripping to dive into the water whenever the chance presented, and rescuing the scantily clothed Steve from North Korea, Danny was 99.99% confident there was no such mark on Steve.

Grace was turning 11 and Danny grudgingly agreed to a birthday party on the beach -- Steve's private beach to be precise. Grudgingly because his maniac of a partner brought it up in Grace's presence and Danny loved his darling daughter too much to douse cold water over her excitement on the spot. He would never blame it on Grace's well practiced rendition of imploring puppy dog eyes. Steve's lesson would be cleaning up by himself after the hurricane of preteen girls had swept through the McGarrett residence.

In the end, Danny wasn't a cruel man and Grace being the perfect little girl she was decided to stay and help with the cleaning. Though the limit of helping Steve would allow the birthday girl to partake in was for Grace to be parked on the couch watching the science channel. While Danny liked to teach his daughter about responsibility, spoiling her a bit on her birthday suited him just fine.

"Danno!"

Although there was no distress in her voice, a high-pitched yell of his name was reason enough to summon Danny rushing into the living room from the lanai. It was apparent Grace was overcome with excitement as all she could do was point at the TV screen while bouncing up and down on the old sofa.

"What's gotten you so excited, Monkey?" Danny asked as he sat down and grabbed her hand. Steve too came in from outside, standing at the doorway on the edge of Danny's peripheral vision.

It took Grace several deep breaths to gather enough of her words and she gushed out, "Danno! They did it! They can test foreign DNA in soulmarks to identify soulmates! We can test yours against Uncle Steve now!"

With his attention focused on Grace, Danny could still feel Steve tensed across the room. Even Grace noticed the atmosphere shift and turned away from the TV to face Steve's direction. Her cheeks turned bright red, possibly from embarrassment.

Without turning, Danny could intuit the flight-or-fight energy coiling tight in Steve, ready to be unleashed into action. Steve might no longer be the prim and proper military operator Danny met three years ago, but emotional confrontation remained one of the most effective fuses to set him off. De-escalation was Danny's priority.

First, evacuate Grace. Gently squeezing Grace's hand in his, he softly instructed, "Grace, maybe you can help collecting the paper dishes and wrapping paper for recycling? Uncle Steve and I will be out with you in a moment."

In addition, Steve was much less likely to take off if Grace was expecting him to be around.

Keeping his gaze on Steve as non-confronting as he could, Danny waited for Grace to be through the backdoor before rising to his feet. Gently but firmly, he spoke with his don't-scare-the-victim voice, "You knew."

Steve didn't confirm. He also didn't deny.

Nodding to himself, Danny continued, "And you decided not to tell me?"

"Danny, I..."

Danny had come to pride himself in reading Steve, but the emotions flitting across Steve's face were too fast, too many, and too complicated to decipher in seconds. Taking a deep inhale then exhaling slowly as a sigh, Danny put his best efforts forward to sort out the situation they were in. Steve wasn't fleeing the scene but it would be helpful if Danny helped with the words.

"Do you not believe in the marks?" _Do you not believe we're compatible?_

Steve swallowed with great effort, then croaked out, "I do. I just..." He signed, "Danny, I'm..."

"Scared?" Danny took a chance with how Steve felt. He didn't believe all the fears were beaten out of the SEALs anyway. _The better the SEAL, the deeper they hid their fears._

Indignance made an appearance on Steve's face and Danny knew they were over the bump. Steve being indignant was a miles better than him feeling like being confronted for having emotions. Danny gradually inched towards Steve as he gathered his words. Though it was still a few seconds before he responded, "Freddie... I can't have it happen again."

When it came to emotions, Steve's words were redacted more heavily than a publicly available CIA document. If there ever was a game show of putting together the whole story from a set of redacted documents, Danny would win easily with Steve as practice. This was the first time Steve uttered Freddie's name, and Danny swiftly recognized the importance of it.

"This isn't your first mark." Danny voiced with certainty.

"D, I want --" It was all the confirmation Danny needed to rise up on his tiptoes and briefly press his lips onto Steve's.

Exhaling a long breath, Danny could feel Steve's grip on his upper arms, firm and resolute. "My Uncle Leo was a drunk until Aunt Marjory got pregnant. His favorite AA mantra is _'one day at a time'_. That work for you?"

All Steve could do was nod and lean his forehead against Danny's. Biologically compatible didn't guarantee emotionally compatible. Danny was aware they didn't have baggage, they had a fleet of U-hauls. This was nonetheless an important first step, Danny knew.

"Oh, you know, my daughter is going to ask to see your mark soon."

Steve blushed.

* * *

Out on the lanai, Grace squealed.


End file.
